TRP: Hansel, Mishka, and Roddy (Bad Guy)
Abby: Castle, day 204. Roddy'd gave it a few days for things to settle. And, maybe to see if Mishka'd want to bring it up himself. But the hangovers were long since gone, and no one was saying a thing to Roddy. So. He went to take matters into his own hands. After turning around and walking out the first time he found Mishka, he was hanging out with Dad, Roddy finally managed to catch him alone in the library. "Knock knock," he called, lingering just outside the shelves. "Can I uh, can I come in?" Coyote: Mishka jumped a little. He was so absorbed in his book about Ivanovich the Ancient he hadn’t noticed Roddy. “Sure,” he said. He tucked a green bookmark into the pages and closed it with a snap, then set it on the table. No kitsune today, he noticed, disappointed. He wondered where she was at. She was always such lovely company in the library. Quiet and sweet. Abby: Roddy came over, grabbing a chair and sitting down across from Mishka. Drummed his fingers on the table, glancing around the room. How to even bring this up. "So uh. How much do you remember. From- the reception. Where you were plastered." Coyote: Mishka tensed. The reception. He’d been hoping, really fucking hoping, that he hadn’t really said that or it was just a drunken dream. He’d really fucking hoped Roddy had forgotten or not noticed. (Library had lots of exits. No real door, just open space. Could just turn invisible and walk out. Could crack away. Could go find Hansel. Nobody to know how badly he’d fucked up, nobody except Hansel and Goro. Nobody to use it against him. Get somebody to tweak Roddy’s memories, make him forget the conversation had ever happened.) (No, better to just lie, make something up. Deflect it.) “Remember from the reception?” Mishka said, frowning. “Ah-- honestly, just bits and pieces.” He flashed an easy smile, sitting down. “I remember you telling me you’d help me sneak onto Jonesy’s ship and set it on fire once we were all sober. You had objections to the bear pit plan, though. Pity.” Abby: Roddy nodded slightly. Mishka didn't remember Right. Okay. This meant Roddy'd have to prompt him then. "That was, not the best scheme I've heard," he said. "But uh. That's not what I wanted to talk about. You said a thing. About a dragon...?" he trailed off, studying Mishka. Coyote: Yeah. Alright. Roddy remembered it. Fuck. Could lie, could erase his memory, somehow-- (Fucking ridiculous. Everything was fine. Roddy was Hansel’s kid. Why would Roddy hurt him?) Better to just deflect it, get rid of it, not say anything, deny, deny, deny. There was no point in telling anyone about the slave cuff or the dragon or any of it. Hansel and Goro would help him kill the dragon and get the cuff back. The others would help, too, but they didn’t need to know the full story. They could come up with some excuse they needed to fight the dragon. What if he told Roddy the truth about the slave cuff, and they killed the dragon, and Roddy took the ring? What if Roddy blabbed the story to someone else and someone else took the ring? What about Larkin? What about Raef, or Sugar, or fucking Gwydion, or, god, fucking Gavi, or-- someone else, like Warmaster Basil, or the Prince, or anyone, fucking anyone who might find out and take it and make more use of him than the dragon did-- Mishka swallowed back the unsettling thoughts. He kept his face smooth and calm. “Dragon?” He laughed. “Oh, gods. Did I tell you the damn story about stealing that dragon’s scale again? I mean, I admit, it’s exaggerated.” Abby: "Uh." What was up with Mishka. Roddy couldn't tell. Something felt off though, Roddy just couldn't figure out what. (All these people and being too good at lying.) "No uh. You didn't," he said slowly. Should he even keep talking about this? Roddy didn't see a good reason to not though. Just a vague, uneasy feeling that it was a bad idea. "Mentioned-- running off to kill one, actually." Coyote: Mishka tensed up all over. He remembered sinking his rapier into Aleksei’s gut, puncturing his organs. He remembered cutting Asenka’s throat, but not going deep enough, so she began to drown in her own blood— he remembered leaning over Asenka and trying to staunch the wound with his hands, desperate to save her. Strangling her instead. “Why would I want to kill a dragon?” Mishka managed. He felt like he was going to vomit. He could feel the blood coagulating on his hands. He was fucking this up. He needed to invent an excuse for asking for help killing the dragon later, and now he was acting like there wasn’t one— Abby: "I was hoping you'd tell me that?" Roddy asked. Coyote: Mishka bit the inside of his cheek so hard he tasted blood. And then, without really meaning to, he vanished with a crack. Abby: Roddy jolted upright. What happened. "Mishka?" he called. "MISHKA?" Oh no he'd messed up. He'd really messed up. Again! Where was Dad. Time to go find him!! Coyote: Mishka needed Hansel. Or Goro. One of them. Either of them. Both of them. Whichever he came across first. Goro would snap at Roddy to back off-- or he’d explain Mishka was fucked up and Roddy needed to go away-- or he’d lie for Mishka. Goro was smart, he’d know what to do; they were partners. And that’s what Goro told him to do last time: No clawing, no scratching, no pinching, just go find someone. Goro told him to think of strategies ahead of time so he didn’t fuck himself up. Mishka couldn’t fucking remember what they were, but if he found Goro, then Goro could-- fucking remind him, or something. Or Hansel. Hansel would grab him tight and not let him go. He’d hold Mishka’s hands so Mishka didn’t hurt himself. He’d tell Mishka what to do, very firmly and very gently, so Mishka didn’t have to think. He’d make sure all the windows and doors were locked and no one could get in. He’d make sure Mishka was safe. He’d make sure Mishka didn’t fuck up with Roddy, too. Hansel would take care of everything. Mishka wanted both, but he was pretty sure Goro was out today. He cracked to Hansel’s room. It was nearby, and it was safe. No windows. No doors. Hansel lounged over on the couch. Potion ingredients sat on the table in front of him: he was bundling herbs to dry and crush into powder. Mishka went for his wrist, automatically, nails biting in, then made himself stop. He cracked and reappeared next to Hansel on the couch, then crawled into his lap and pressed his face against Hansel’s shoulder as if to hide there. “Hans,” he whispered frantically. Izzy: Deeply fucking alarming. Hansel froze when Mishka appeared -- he didn't usually have any reason to crack around in the castle and waste magic -- then dropped what he was doing when Mishka vanished and popped back in beside him. His arms went around Mishka immediately, tight. Something was wrong. He shifted Mishka in his arms, murmuring, "It's okay, it's all right, I got you, I got you," as he stood and went swiftly to kick the door closed, lock it, jam the chair under the knob; then carried Mishka to the bedroom and locked that door behind them, too, still whispering, "I got you, khochav, it's okay." His trident was by the bed. He sat on the side next to it and crossed his legs, cradling Mishka against him, gently pulling his hands apart and guiding Mishka's arms around him, so he wouldn't be able to pick at his wrist, would hold onto him instead, dig his fingers in if he had to. "All good," he promised, kissing Mishka'a hair. "All safe. Tovta, tovta. Can you tell me what happened, love?" Izzy: "All right, well." Hansel kept his voice soft, kissing Mishka's head between words. "Something did." He carefully ran his hands down Mishka's back and sides. Didn't seem to be hurt, and didn't smell like smoke and ash, so whatever it was, he'd probably come straight here. "S'okay, ahuvi. You're okay. You're safe. You did good coming to me. Whatever it was, everything's gonna be okay. I'm gonna help." He rocked them in place slightly, one arm locked tight around Mishka waist, the other rubbing his back. "We're gonna work together. What can fuckin' stop us when we work together, huh?" He kissed Mishka's hair again. "Not a goddamn thing, that's what. It's all okay." Coyote: “Yeah. Yeah. Ah, except.” Mishka stumbled over his words, wasn’t sure how to put them in the right order. “Roddy— I’m going to fuck Roddy up, I’m going to hurt Roddy, somehow, it’s just, he’s downstairs, he— I’ll... what if I...” Izzy: "I'll take care of it," Hansel said patiently. Goddamned if he didn't think the same thing, but -- "Hey. Listen. Roddy's a tough fucking kid, okay? He's been through some shit. He'll be all right." He'd grown up so fucking much, too. The night of the wedding, when he'd carried Mishka around, and he'd -- oh, shit. Shit. It was probably that. Yeah. "You ... want me to talk to him?" It came out careful, because he wasn't sure if that would make things better. "About the dragon. Listen, it's all gonna work out, and me and Goro are gonna kill that fucking dragon. It's not gonna hurt any fucking body else." Coyote: Mishka made a small, strangled noise. His fingers dug into Hansel so tight he was sure he’d leave bruises. Izzy: Hansel held onto him tighter. "All right. Tovta. We're just gonna sit for a while. I got you, ahuvi. You talk if you want to. We're not gonna do anything else right now. It's all right. Don't worry." Coyote: Hansel didn’t even seem to flinch or acknowledge the tight grip. Mishka shut his eyes. “Can’t tell Roddy. Hansel, what if I— what if I hurt him, or kill him, or— talk myself into it, tie myself in knots— I’ll fuck him up, I’ll find a reason—“ The danger was never the dragon. The danger was always Mishka. I should get away from people. Run far off. Somewhere else. Hansel will be better with Goro. Everyone will be better off. Greatest good, like Joan always says. Izzy: "We're not gonna let that happen." His voice stayed even. "You're gonna come to me, like you did just now --" he kissed Mishka's head -- "'cause you're smart, and you're fucking good, and we'll work through it together. You're not gonna hurt anyone. You're good, Mishka, my love, you're good." Coyote: Fundamentally false. Obviously fundamentally false. Mishka hurt everyone, even when he was trying not to. He’d destroyed everyone who ever cared about him. He was bad luck. A jinx. But. Okay. You’re gonna come to me, just like you did now. Okay. That was something Mishka could do. A simple command, next time. That was the same thing Goro had said: to go to one of them. Easy. Mishka was going to hurt someone, because he always get someone, but maybe this time, Hansel or Goro could stop him. They knew about the cuff. They knew how crazy Mishka was. They could stop him or help him. It’d be good. It’d be okay, maybe. “Okay,” Mishka whispered. “As you say. I’ll come here. I’ll come to you.” He kept his face pressed against Hansel’s shoulder. Izzy: "Mmhm." Hansel went back to rubbing his back, shifting slightly and resting his head against Mishka's. "You will. And I'll take care of you, and you'll be okay, and everyone'll be safe. All fine. All you have to do is come to me, love. I've got you." Abby: There was a brief tingle of warning, and then Roddy's mental voice came through, sounding freaked out. "Daaaaad! I think I broke Mishka and your door's locked and I don't know what to do!!" Izzy: Hansel grimaced a bit. All good, kid. Mishka's with me. He's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. Talk in a bit. Love you. Then he lifted his head back up to kiss Mishka's hair. "D'you think you can talk to Roddy? You don't have to -- I'm gonna stay with you either way. But he just Sent at me. Just concerned about you," he said softly. Coyote: Mishka tasted blood in his mouth from the cut. If he put it off until later, if he gave himself time to overthink it, he’d twist it around in his head, obsess over it, make it worse somehow. Better to do it now. “We need to talk to Roddy,” Mishka said through his teeth, “before I make it worse.” I need your help. Please don’t let me hurt anyone. Please, please, please. Izzy: "You won't make it worse. I'm here," Hansel promised. Mishka might not believe the first part, but he had a better chance of settling and being okay if Hansel kept reminding him he wasn't alone. He shifted Mishka again to keep a solid hold on him, taking him over to the bedroom door and unlocking it, then going to the couch and kneeling to sit Mishka down. He cupped Mishka's face and stroked his cheeks with his thumbs, and kissed his forehead, and his eyes, and lips. "Kid's probably a little spooked," he said. "Sit here, give me a second with him, and then we're all gonna sit down and talk. I'm gonna stay right with you. It'll be fine." Then he kissed Mishka's forehead again, and drew away gently, not letting go until he had to, and went to the door to move the chair aside, unlock it, and crack it open to slip out. He grabbed Roddy in a hug straight away. "Hey. S'all good, kid." Abby: Roddy was pacing back and forth, wondering how long 'a bit' would be. He clung to Hansel tightly when he came out. "You sure?" he asked. "I just. Mishka'd brought up when he was all drunk and- and I just- I just wanted to know what was going on but then he just. He vanished and I didn't mean to do that. I didn't. I just wanted to know," he babbled. Izzy: "Nah, hey, hey." He patted Roddy's shell. "I know. You didn't do anything. This is just, uh. It's something that's upsetting for Mishka to talk about, okay? And you didn't know that." He pulled back, keeping his hands on Roddy's shoulders, and carefully said, "It's a big fuckin' deal for him to say anything, but he's trusting you, 'cause we're family. It stays in that room unless he says otherwise, all right?" Abby: Roddy nodded. Yeah. Serious. Secret. He could- he could do that. "I won't- I won't let him down," he vowed solemnly. He was jittery and tense, following Hansel back inside. Hansel went to hug Mishka, and he looked like he needed it. Roddy grabbed a chair, so there was some distance between them. Mishka'd been less jumpy about hugs from Roddy but maybe- better safe than sorry, right now. "So um. So Dad explained to me that this is... important. And. And I get that. And I'm not gonna- I won't blab. I promise. But if you don't- if you don't wanna tell me anything I- I understand that too. I won't. I won't ask questions." (Even if he was burning up with wanting to know.) "Just. Whatever you can." Coyote: Mishka bit the inside of his mouth again, wincing as his teeth sank into the sore spot. “Okay,” he said, in a calm, but tight voice. “First of all, I want to say, this isn’t as bad as it’s going to sound, because we have a plan, sort of, and it’s going to be fine.” Abby: Roddy was not gonna blurt out something stupid. He was not. "I believe you," he said instead. Not a time for questioning Mishka's plans. (The bear pit one was a drunk scheme anyway, that was a good reason for it being stupid.) Coyote: Mishka tapped his finger on his arm. He wanted to crawl behind Hansel again, to make sure there was distance between him and Roddy so he couldn’t hurt Roddy and Roddy couldn’t touch him. Mishka held up his wrist with cuff. He’d almost forgotten it. It still made him feel sick and he still wanted to claw it off, but it’d been on there for so long he didn’t remember what it felt like to have t off. He decided to keep it simple. “This is the Shackle of Asmodeus. It’s— I have to do whatever someone says if they have the other half. There’s a dragon in Calimport, the king. He’s— bored, he...” No. Too complicated. “He has the other half. I want it back. We need to, to kill him. Apparently.” Abby: Roddy sat up straighter. He'd heard about- some things similar. Never like this. That was-- scary. (How much of what Roddy knew about Mishka was Mishka. How much was the dragon. Was-- was this why Mishka'd been the bad guy?) "Oh," he said. "That sounds... terrible. Um. Yeah I'll help with that." Coyote: “Oh.” Well. Mishka stared at Roddy. That was— that was a huge fucking relief relief. Good god. Was it really that simple? “Oh,” Mishka said again, because he wasn’t sure what else to say. “I, uh— thank you.” Abby: "You're welcome," Roddy said automatically. Scuffed at the ground with his foot. "I mean. It's not even the most dangerous thing we've got planned," he said, glancing at Hansel. Still had questions. But maybe he'd see if Mishka volunteered more, before asking them. Coyote: Mishka choked out a laugh. Abby: Well, this was a good sign, right? He was laughing. Not happy laughing but. Not crying. "Yeah, we'll-- take care of you. Don't worry. We got you back from Diva, we can- we can handle a dragon," he said, trying to project confidence. Coyote: “Aha,” Mishka said. “See, here’s the problem. Listen. That dragon. He’s— told me to do things, before, fucking... hurt people or kill them, or get him things. He’s forgotten about me, I think, for right now— he’s got so much to do, he’s running an empire— I don’t think he knows how strong the cuff is, I don’t think he knows how rare it is, it was just a fucking trinket in his hoard. And he’s going to make me hurt people, if I’m there. Or— his empire is almost done expanding. What if he comes to Skyport next? What if he tries to actually use me? God. You’ll have to— you’ll have to beat me, not him, and I know everything about you all, I’d have to... think of plans to kill you all...” Abby: Roddy shot a glance at Hansel. How-- how was he supposed to handle this. In a way it was nice though, cause he wasn't alone. "Hey, hey," he said. "If- if he's forgotten about you then, then there's his mistake. We'll figure something out. And, well, wouldn't be the first time we had to beat you. And now we're stronger, better. So. We'll handle it. Okay?" Izzy: Hansel had stayed quiet for a while, holding Mishka and carefully watching the both of them -- silently pleased by how well they were both handling it, not wanting to interfere. He was so fucking relieved about them getting along at all, but Mishka trusting Roddy with this, and Roddy -- so fucking mature now -- saying he'd help, and they'd take of Mishka, and not to worry. Felt almost too good to be true, if not for the fucking fact they were having to have this conversation at all. Fuckin' dragon. Hansel was really going to enjoy sticking his trident in the fucker's eye. He backed Roddy up, for both their sakes. "Yeah, kid's right, y'know." He kissed Mishka's head. It was -- fucking painful to think about, for him, still, but he knew what it'd meant to Mishka when Hansel had killed him to get him away from Diva. "Did it before, we'll do it again. No problem. Comes to that, I'm gonna keep you from having to hurt anyone, and I'm gonna get you back again." Coyote: Mishka wished he'd been drinking, because then he could burst into tears and hug people and then pretend in the morning like he'd just been drunk and emotional. Now, though, he was forced into the awkward position where he had to actually say things, and... mean them, and... shit like that. "I," Mishka said, "that's, thank you, that's..." Oh god. Oh god, he might end up crying and hugging people anyway. While completely sober. Fuck. Okay. No, he could talk like a normal person without making it a big deal. Except... Mishka had never really had anyone looking out for him before. Except Hansel. And Hansel had practically forced him into it, fucking refusing to back down, shoving him back onto the ship when Mishka tried to fight people wounded, holding Mishka down and insisting he'd take care of Mishka, doing it for years until Mishka believed him. Hansel was perfect; he was infallible and strong, like a war god, and even then, it was still so hard for Mishka to accept his support, sometimes, like he was terrified that support might vanish from underneath his feet at any moment, even after Hansel proved time and time again that it wouldn't. Taking care of you isn't work for me, Hansel had said all those months ago. And now Mishka had to accept help from someone else. "Okay," Mishka managed to say. "You'll take me down and stop me if you have to. You're right. We'll work together on it." (God, why was that so fucking hard? Why was letting people help him so difficult? How did other people trust each other so fucking easily?) "And we'll take down Gruumsh to protect Hansel," Mishka said. "And we'll kill Lively Fred to get revenge for Goro. And we'll protect you from the circus, and the law, and whoever else comes to get you." Somehow that made it easier. If it was... transactional. Like a deal they were making, somehow, or an exchange. Abby: Roddy nodded as Mishka listed what they were fighting. It was a lot, but they were a lot too. A team, and a good one at that. And Mishka, Mishka was... maybe more to Roddy than he realized, but that was okay. They cared about each other, and they took care of each other. Even though Roddy kept making him freak out and vanish, even though Mishka tried to kill Roddy's brother at one point. You know it was interesting, seeing where they'd come, to where they were. Even though Mishka'd objectively done worse things to Roddy than either of his circus parents, Roddy still felt closer to him than the both of them combined. Now he wanted to hug Miskha too. (Maybe later, Dad had that under control right now.) "Yeah," he said. "That's what we'll do. You're all- smart you can come up with a scheme, and then we'll help refine it, and then that dragon won't know what hit 'em! Except he will cause we'll tell him why we're taking him down." (Okay but. Roddy now was really wishing he hadn't said he wouldn't ask questions.) Coyote: Mishka nodded. He pressed tighter against Hansel, because it helped, somehow. "Right. Here's the thing, thought." Mishka's mouth was dry. "The dragon-- the dragon's told me to kill people, before. Loved ones. He's-- the god king, it's... hard to explain. You've been to Calimport, right? You know how it works. He wants sacrifices. Takes them from loads of people, hundreds of people. He wants whatever you love most. And he-- had me kill a couple people, before." Mishka had sat down and made a list before. People he loved in the order he loved them most. Going down the line of people the dragon might make him kill. '''Abby: '''at 3:55 PM "I don't know how it works that well..." Roddy said slowly. "I'd uh, I'd heard a few things. I think I jumped to conclusions though." Like how they'd feed murder suspects to the dragon. Wasn't sounding like that was entirely right. Well. He was learning now. The dragon liked people sacrificing loved ones. Mishka'd killed people for him, before. Probably- probably Mishka's loved ones. Roddy felt a sick. That was a horrible thing to have hanging over your head. "Well. We at least-- know who's in danger," he said slowly. (Hansel, Goro, Joan, Sugar, Roddy? Maybe others?) "Can plan for that." '''Coyote: '''at 4:33 PM Mishka snorted. “Yeah. Well—“ He rubbed the back of his neck. “If you people make plans to protect yourselves from me, make sure I don’t know what the plans are. You’ll have to... do it without me.” '''Abby: '''at 8:54 PM Oh yeah. Scheming. Roddy shot a worried look at Hansel. He wasn't good at that! And if he was honest... Dad was really good at hitting things, not so good at plans. "We'll figure something out," he said, for what felt like the millionth time. "Don't worry. We'll keep everyone safe- including you." '''Coyote: '''at 9:24 PM Mishka pressed his face into his arms. He knew Roddy meant to help. He didn’t have anything to say, though. He didn’t think they could keep everyone safe. '''Abby: '''at 9:27 PM Roddy was quiet for a minute, letting things settle. Mishka was possibly going to be forced to try and kill him and Dad and the others. Right. They'd figure it out. They'd figure something out. But Roddy still wanted to know one thing. "Hey uh. I know I said I wouldn't ask questions but... can I anyway?" '''Coyote: '''at 9:27 PM “Shoot.” Mishka scrubbed his face. “Some questions are upsetting for Hansel,” he said quietly. “And might have to be discussed some other time.” '''Izzy: '''at 9:31 PM "Hey, I'll be fuckin' fine," Hansel objected gently. He resettled his arms around Mishka and kissed his hair. "Ask away. Don't worry about it." '''Abby: '''at 9:32 PM Roddy drummed his fingers against the chair. "Is... this why you were the bad guy for a bit?" he asked slowly. '''Coyote: '''at 9:40 PM Good god, that was complicated. Mishka’s mouth went dry, and he thought of every fucked-up reason he’d turned on Hansel. It had been so many small things, sticking together like tar. And in the end, it had only taken one reason for Mishka to give in and come back: because Hansel had hugged him, and kissed his hair, and promised to help him, and Mishka fucking loved him. Mishka could never stop loving him. The instant Hansel had been willing to take him back, Mishka had crumpled like tissue paper. “No,” Mishka said slowly. “That was because... that was because I was angry at Hansel.” '''Izzy: '''at 9:49 PM Hansel poked his tongue against his broken tusk for a second, then broke in. This seemed like something that'd be better for him to handle. Mishka might make himself sound worse than he was; he did that. "Hey. Kid, y'know how Luci told you about the thing with Gruumsh, and how I, uh. How that happened to me and -- my crew couldn't fight back, right? Thing is that," he said slowly, "that Mishka heard about all that and had no idea I was ... y'know, fuckin' possessed. He thought I just -- fucking killed all of our friends, our family." He paused. "He thought I was the bad guy." '''Abby: '''at 10:02 PM "Oh," Roddy said quietly. Yeah. From that angle... Roddy was starting to see how things worked out. (Jonn had said something, about them splitting before, but maybe Roddy didn't need to know that.) He stared at the ground, picking at the hem of his coat. "...Can I hug you guys?" '''Coyote: '''at 10:07 PM Mishka tensed again, then made himself not. He breathed out. He opened his arms and motioned. '''Abby: '''at 10:10 PM Roddy wanted to dive in, but Mishka was feeling delicate (and also he was tiny) so he was careful. Eased in and squeezed the both of them as tight as he felt comfortable doing. "I'm glad we all know better now at least," he said softly. "Love you both." '''Coyote: '''at 10:24 PM Mishka’s heart squeezed, and he gritted his teeth, and remembered the blood on his hands. He remembered the people in his crew— and Chirp, the tiny bard with the mandolin, always snuggled up to his sister. He remembered all the people he’d killed and wrecked and ruined. But for the first time in a few years, he pushed past it. “I love you too,” Mishka managed to say. (He checked the room. Nobody to hear him say it. No windows, just a safe closed room. All good.) '''Izzy: '''at 10:28 PM Fucking great. Hansel squeezed them both, gently. "Love you too, kid." '''Izzy: '''at 10:43 PM END Title: Bad Guy. Summary: Roddy asks questions about some drunken Mishka rambling. Mishka panics and teleports to Hansel. After some comforting, the three end up in the same room and Mishka explains to Roddy about the cuff and the dragon, and why he was the bad guy previously. Category:Text Roleplay